Why Digital Firms Should Focus On Millennials

Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025 and are the oxygen that companies need to survive in this digitally-driven economy. However, so many digital firms are still missing out on hiring millennial talent as they are choosing more mature employees who can bring years of work experience to the role.

The problem with valuing work experience over talent is that much of it originates in the past when technology played significantly less of a role. Older employees from the baby boomer generation aren't always able (or inclined) to keep up with the latest digital technologies. As a result, they often choose to move horizontally within the same sector and role in order not to appear stagnant. This gives them the opportunity to appear as if they’re gaining experience but lacks any real progression.

There are several problems that this approach can cause to the future of an organisation in the digital era. Millennials are the solution that digital firms are looking for to solve this issue.

Social Media

Millennials have been brought up alongside all manner of social media platforms and technological innovations. Their ability to switch between devices such as smartphones, tablets, TV screens, social media platforms and their iPods means that they have been born to multi-task. Older generations simply have not had as much exposure to technology multi-tasking as millennials, so they provide a disadvantage in the workplace.

The obsessive nature with which millennials use social media can actually increase the digital reach of the company that they work for. Millennials are natural web marketers, so employers need to realise that they can spread the word of their brand through the friends, family and Facebook contacts that their younger employees have.

Millennial Ambassadors

Millennials, as a generation, are better educated than any that have gone before. Many younger employees now enter the workplace with a degree, as opposed to the older generations who were encouraged to start work after completing their school education. The millennial age bracket is also the most ethnically diverse and they demonstrate a passionate care about ethics and charitable projects. Millennials want the world to be a better place and would like to make positive contributions on a global scale. These factors make millennials excellent ambassadors for your company who are able to connect with the entire scope of your customer demographic.

Cost-Effective Employees

A study by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School found that 1 in 3 millennials would prioritise social media freedom, device flexibility and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer. This makes them more cost-effective than more mature employees who have achieved many annual pay increases to create their current generous salary. Millennials are cheaper, as 70% of them are planning to change jobs as the economy improves.

Millennials can also help you reduce your IT overheads. Their ability to get to grips with new systems and software in your digital firm means that they are likely to call support teams on a less frequent basis than the older members of your workforce.

Motivated By Personal Growth

Millennials are intrinsically motivated to succeed. Their natural desire for a fast pace of life means that they want to complete their work quickly and to a high standard. Digital firms who want to get the most of their millennial employees should find a way to provide real-time feedback and positive criticism about their work.

Millennials are also looking for job opportunities that allow for personal growth such as self-development and cross-training to pick up new skills. Hiring employers will need to demonstrate that a clear path of career progression is available to millennials, so that they feel encouraged that they’ll be able to move upwards on a timescale that they are excited by.

It is also important to give millennials a voice and the opportunity to affect change in a digital firm. In terms of managing millennials, they are most likely to prosper when an inclusive leadership style is applied. This will allow them the freedom to make honest contributions about the organisation without being criticised for them.

If you’re a millennial who is looking for a forward-thinking company to join in 2016, or a digital firm who is in need of some fresh talent to improve your productivity rates and help move your company into the future, then please, get in touch with us today.